Everything on report has been paid off....now, how long is the waiting game?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are both previously divorced and both of our spouses "stuck us good".  Our FICO scores unfortunately dropped profusely because of it.  We recently (Sept) ordered our credit reports from all three agencies, reviewed and paid off every single debt listed (after validating they were indeed ours).  These accounts were also all paid off in September as well.  We have no car payments (also debts that were paid off....they were current).  The only debt that we currently have is 4 credit cards (in his name only).  I have no open credit cards or debt in my name....which I have learned  that is probably hurting me more than helping me.  (People have suggested that he add me to his so I can have open credit w/out applying for credit and possibly lowering my points any further).  We did receive a couple of letters from our debtors advising that they were requesting removal of these debts from our reports (YEAH!)

Both of our scores were in the low 500s (510 & 523) back in September when we ordered our reports.  My question is this, how long will it take to build our scores?  I haven't reordered our reports since then knowing  that the debtors have 30 days to send updated info to the credit agencies. 

After suffering the rath of the ex-spouses, we are tired of suffering.

Thanks for any info you can give! It's much appreciated!

[Anonymous]

The standard answer is that it can take up to 60 days.  Some creditors act more quickly than others.  If you have a creditor that only updates once a month, and you just barely missed their upload, then it may take 30 days until the next upload.  Then, it's a matter of the CRAs processing the information.  We see lots of stories on here of near-immediate updates, but I think you should be patient. 

I would wait a full 60 days just to give everything that was supposed to hit time to hit, so that you know that if it's showing a balance there has been more than enough time for everyone to have done their jobs.  That way you know it's a mistake instead of some kind of time lag.  I hate spending money on scores, so I try to do as little of it as possible.

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My husband and I are both previously divorced and both of our spouses "stuck us good".  Our FICO scores unfortunately dropped profusely because of it.  We recently (Sept) ordered our credit reports from all three agencies, reviewed and paid off every single debt listed (after validating they were indeed ours).  These accounts were also all paid off in September as well.  We have no car payments (also debts that were paid off....they were current).  The only debt that we currently have is 4 credit cards (in his name only).  I have no open credit cards or debt in my name....which I have learned  that is probably hurting me more than helping me.  (People have suggested that he add me to his so I can have open credit w/out applying for credit and possibly lowering my points any further).  We did receive a couple of letters from our debtors advising that they were requesting removal of these debts from our reports (YEAH!)

Both of our scores were in the low 500s (510 & 523) back in September when we ordered our reports.  My question is this, how long will it take to build our scores?  I haven't reordered our reports since then knowing  that the debtors have 30 days to send updated info to the credit agencies. 

After suffering the rath of the ex-spouses, we are tired of suffering.

Thanks for any info you can give! It's much appreciated!

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Welcome to the forums.

Being added as an AU (Authorized User) not a joint user can help you  IF the account is older than any of yours, IF the payment history is long and clean, IF the utilization is very low (<9%), and IF it will report to the CRA's. Not all cards will do this. You need to ask the company first. You will inherit the entire history of this account. One caveat however; if this account starts to go south your credit will be affected as well. Keep that in mind.

Good luck to you.

(myfico)
7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

CC interest free as of 8/09
Time can heal all wounds and a low FICO.
"Hello my name is Sandy and I'm a recovering crediholic".